Monday, January 23, 2006

Speech Therapy

The speech therapist, Ellen, came today for the first time. It was actually pretty fun. We played with Brad for about 45 minutes and had a great time. She has a master's degree in early childhood development, so she was able to give me a bunch of helpful tips. She also deciphered what Brad's been saying for the past week (which, I, his mother, couldn't understand!). He's been pointing to things and saying, 'da.' I thought he was mistakenly calling it a cat, or trying to say da-da. Ellen told me he's actually saying, 'that.' As in, what's that? She said toddlers hear parents say, 'What's that? Do you know what that is?' or 'What's this? What is this called?' so often that 'this' and 'that' are often some of their first words. I had no idea! So Brad's been asking me to tell him what the names of things are, and now I tell him. His vocabulary now includes da-da, ma-ma, ca (cat), ligh (light), cah (car, in a Boston accent), and our current favorite, ca-ca (cracker). Ellen was really great--she's already given me some great ideas for the next couple of weeks until she comes again. I think these 'early interventions,' as they're called, are going to really help Brad a lot. Plus, it didn't hurt that she said she was amazed that Brad was so friendly and playful. She said most kids Brad's age are afraid of new people and take weeks to warm up to her. Brad just had a ball with all the toys she brought! Here's the last pic of the day: